Kia kaha, Pike River families

Written By: - Date published: 7:19 pm, November 11th, 2016 - 34 comments
Categories: accountability, health and safety, john key, Mining, workers' rights - Tags: , , ,

Nearly six years ago to the day, 29 men were killed in Pike River Mine. Their bodies have never been recovered despite promises made by our Prime Minister. And now, the mine is being threatened with being sealed forever.

Anna Osborne, whose husband Milton was among them, talked to John Campbell on Checkpoint this evening:

The mine is safe. It’s our moral duty to go in and get those boys out. Solidarity and aroha to their families.

34 comments on “Kia kaha, Pike River families ”

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  1. Chess Player 1
    11 November 2016 at 7:59 pm

    Remember “The tree and snails were all saved”

    http://www.voxy.co.nz/politics/why-wasn039t-pike-river-mine-open-cast-solo/5/73356

    [The Pike River Royal Commission found that the root causes of the tragedy were poor health and safety, a company prioritising profit and production over worker welfare, lax regulation and poor safety enforcement.

    Pike River was completely unsuited to being an open cast mine. No application for an open cast mine in that area was ever made. Any further attempts to blame other for the disaster or steer the conversation away from the Pike River families’ calls for justice gets a ban. I have literally no patience for that shit. – Stephanie]

    • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1
      11 November 2016 at 8:11 pm

      Remember the way the National Party helped the bosses avoid their personal responsibility.

    • Rosemary McDonald 1.2
      11 November 2016 at 8:28 pm

      Thanks for that Stephanie….it is totally beyond me how anyone could keep perpetuating that bullshit.

      On topic. What is down there that the Powers That Be don’t want exposed?

      Dirty little secrets best left buried, perhaps?

      Full support for the Pike River families.

      Kia kaha.

    • save nz 1.3
      12 November 2016 at 7:06 am

      “Pike River was completely unsuited to being an open cast mine. No application for an open cast mine in that area was ever made.”

      Great to see removing even more safety guards from the RMA is still on the Natz agenda.

      Profit for a few, before people and the environment.

      Kia Kaha Pike River families.

  2. Paul 2
    11 November 2016 at 8:48 pm

    The government does not care about you.

    • Stephanie Rodgers 2.1
      11 November 2016 at 8:50 pm

      And how does this help, Paul?

      I get there’s a big ol’ wave of despondency sweeping the left at the moment, but really, the Pike families deserve a bit more than “nah who cares, everything’s shit.”

      • Paul 2.1.1
        11 November 2016 at 8:56 pm

        It matters because we should not be hoping that Key and his cronies will help.
        They won’t.

        We need a genuine socialist government.

        • Stephanie Rodgers 2.1.1.1
          11 November 2016 at 9:42 pm

          *This government* is the government in charge, right now, when they are planning to seal the mine. Anna Osborne and the other Pike River families don’t have the luxury of waiting for a year or however long it takes for us to get a government who gives a damn about working people.

          I’m just disappointed at this close-minded “everything’s terrible and nothing will ever change oh well” attitude. It’s not helpful and it’s not kind.

          • Manuka AOR 2.1.1.1.1
            12 November 2016 at 8:39 am

            I’m just disappointed at this close-minded “everything’s terrible and nothing will ever change oh well” attitude. It’s not helpful and it’s not kind.

            Totally agree.

      • adam 2.1.2
        12 November 2016 at 12:23 am

        I think you should say liberal social democrat’s are the ones whoa re feeling despondent, rather than the left feeling despondent Stephanie Rodgers. There are big chunks of the left who are more than happy about what has happened. Working people have three times no shouted out loud and clear neo-liberalism and globalization are evil, and they want no part of it.

        I get why liberal social democrat’s are feeling a bit deflated, but perk up. Once you get over blaming Bernie, because nothing like a straw-man scapegoat. Rather than reflect on the fact they were wrong in pick such a loser in the first place. Nor the fact that the campaign was right bloody awful, and h.r.c is really just a corporate stooge anyway.

        Many other on the left see this as a true revival, no more lesser evil. No more money in politics, no more taking crap from this limp liberals and there pathetic and cowardly approach to politics. And if the Tory bastards can put up that creep, then we get to finger him as the low life scum that he is.

        So let me say this about pike river, If the government won’t do anything. Then It time for them to get out of the way and let me and mine do it. Because quite frankly, they are being obtuse at this point, to the level of insulting. The nicely, nicely approach is over, they either do what the said, or the can get out of the coast.

        [This is not a space to project what you think other people are thinking about the US election, adam, and you’re way off the mark if you think I’m a Hillary fan who blames Bernie. Keep it to the relevant threads. – Stephanie]

      • Jenny 2.1.3
        12 November 2016 at 7:48 am

        Something in the same vein but a bit more uplifting

  3. Rosemary McDonald 3
    11 November 2016 at 9:06 pm

    The truth can count the cost…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1HzShsZvdo

    …lest the darkness overcome.

  5. gsays 5
    11 November 2016 at 9:12 pm

    touching interview on nz this evening.

    so many lies and broken promises.

    I trust the families find the strength they need, yet again…

  6. mauī 6
    11 November 2016 at 9:35 pm

    Yes, not forgotten. Sealing a crime scene – how low can you go.

  7. Bill 7
    12 November 2016 at 12:31 am

    Random recollections (I haven’t watched the linked vid)

    There was an explosion and the methane concentrations for an explosion are quite narrow – 10% to 12% or some-such.

    Rescue team wanted to go in following the first explosion. Police refused permission- forbade it…methane levels built up over the coming days. Subsequent explosion.

    Campbell (?) showed remote footage of survival boxes containing oxygen supplies having been opened. (From memory only 30min oxygen in each cylinder)

    Lots of bullshit talk at the time of how the mine was ‘on fire’ and temperatures would be in the many hundreds of degrees.

    I’m picking – just on a hunch – that the reason the mine is to be sealed is because if we were to have a look down there we would see that miners were alive and either trying to get out or hunkering down awaiting rescue.

    And can we please not forget that as far back as the 1800’s it was taken as a read that ALL mines had to have more than one exit? And yeah, nearly 200 years later, Pike River only had one exit.

  8. fisiani 8
    12 November 2016 at 12:42 am

    [Banned for a month for implying the Pike River families are liars, defending John Key for breaking his promise to them, and being a disrespectful troll. I said, no patience for this shit. – Stephanie]

  9. Mike the Lefty 9
    12 November 2016 at 11:09 am

    John Key promised the miners’ families that their fathers and sons would be brought home.
    Six years later that promise has still not been honoured.

  10. mosa 10
    12 November 2016 at 7:42 pm

    John Key as we all know says a lot of things most of it is bullshit.

    I would hope that he would have known better than to promise something he could not deliver and was telling the families what they wanted to hear and raising their hopes that they would get their loved ones returned and get some closure.

    The deaths of these innocent men has never been solved and as others have pointed out this could well be a criminal case.

    I support the families in any action they feel justified to take and after six years waiting for answers its been far too long.

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